


In Another Life

by TheLovelyPatronus



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Fluff, HP: EWE, Not Epilogue Compliant, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-09
Updated: 2017-03-09
Packaged: 2018-10-01 16:14:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10193732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLovelyPatronus/pseuds/TheLovelyPatronus
Summary: A rewrite of the Epilogue.





	

It had been fourteen years since the battle of Hogwarts and all was well in the world of Harry Potter. He had the perfect wife and three beautiful children. The perfect family, something that had always been just out of reach for our hero. 

Harry had woken every day with a smile on his face and a skip in his step. That was, after he had stopped sleeping with his wand clutched tightly in his hand, or when he had stopped flinching at every sudden movement, or maybe it had been when Harry had tripped over a crack in the sidewalk because he was too busy checking over his shoulder for a danger that was never coming.

It had taken Ginny’s angry tears and threats of leaving him if he “did not leave that goddamn war behind!” to finally get through his head. The war was over, Voldemort was dead, his followers were dead and if they were not dead, then they were never going to come back. It had taken him a whole year to come to terms with that fact, until they had gotten married. After that, Harry had been too preoccupied with buying his new house, auror training, and helping to rebuild Hogwarts to allow his fears to take over his life.

James Sirius had been born in August of 2003, Albus Severus following three years after in April of 2006, and finally Lily Luna in September of 2008. Harry now had children to raise and no time to worry about dark lords and horcruxes. 

An 8 am phone call had woken Harry on a bright June morning in 2013.

“Harry? Is that you?” the voice said. It took Harry a moment to place the familiar voice. 

“Big D? Is that really you?” Harry couldn’t help but remember the stupid nickname. 

“It’s me, I was wondering…If it were possible... to meet sometime today? Maybe grab some lunch or an early dinner?” Dudley sounded unsure of himself. Harry had to take a second to wrap his mind around this turn of events.

“Yeah, sure. How does 4 o’clock sound?” he asked. They had made their plans and agreed to meet in muggle London that afternoon. 

Harry had told Ginny about the phone call and she had been supportive of their meeting, as much as she could be at least. Knowing all she did about her husband's cousin, it was hard for her to not hex him into oblivion. But, people changed, grew, matured. Draco Malfoy was a prime example and if he could do it, anyone could.

“He’s family after all, his parents may have been rotten but he was just a child. Look at Draco and Hermione; he was an absolute prat as a child but now? He’s absolutely perfect. He plays tea party with Cassie too. People change, dear. Let him show you the changes he’s made.” She said as she brought the children into the kitchen for breakfast.

“Maybe you should have married Draco, since he’s so perfect.” Harry mumbled to himself. Ginny’s tinkling laughter followed him through the door.

At exactly 4 pm Harry sat in a small café Dudley had recommended, waiting to see his huge form walk through the door. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on your outlook, the man that entered was neither as round nor as mean looking as Harry remembered him to be. Dudley had lost a lot of weight and it had made his normally pig like face much nicer to look at. 

“Dudley?! Where is the rest of you?” Harry stood up and clapped him on the back as he approached their table. 

“Gone, a long time ago.” He laughed and sat down. 

“I have to be honest here, Harry. There’s a reason I called you after all this time… well two reasons actually.” Dudley said. They were interrupted by a waitress who took their order and walked away.

“First, I wanted to apologize for everything I put you through when we were kids. For not standing up to my parents even though I knew how wrong their treatment of you was. Mostly for being an overall arsehole and making the entirety of your childhood unbearable.” 

Their beers had been brought out during Dudley’s apology. Both men took a swig to clear some of the awkwardness from the air. 

“We were kids, Dud. Did you really expect me to hold a grudge? Now your parents… Well that’s another matter entirely.” Harry couldn’t keep the bitterness out if his voice. Even after all of these years, it grated. 

“I don’t talk them anymore, I haven’t for quite some time.” Harry looked up at the revelation. That was something he never expected to hear from little duddykins. 

“I married a witch. You can just imagine how well that was received.” Dudley finished with a sad smile. Harry choked on this beer this time. 

“That’s actually the main reason I wanted to reach out to you. We received a visit from a professor Granger last night.” Dudley looked up at Harry with a most peculiar expression. 

Harry smiled at him. Hermione was now the new muggle studies professor and Gryffindor head of house for Hogwarts, along with her husband, Draco Malfoy, new potions professor and Slytherin head of house. They were the perfect, shining example of house unity. Harry busted out laughing. This had to be some kind of karma, Dudley the super muggle, marrying a witch and producing a magical child? He couldn’t have written it better himself.

“Yeah Yeah, get it out. Cho said you’d react this way.” this time the beer made it’s way out of Harry’s nose. 

“You married Cho? Cho Chang? How in the world?” Harry had trouble wrapping his mind around it. Dudley smirked. 

“We met a month after the fall of Voldemort. At a bar in muggle London. We got married a few months later and Giselle was born about two years after that.” Dudley finished. 

So, Harry now had three whole new family members. 

“Giselle Dursley, huh? I hope she got Cho’s looks.” They laughed at Harry’s dig, any lingering awkward feeling dissipated and they spent the next hour catching up. 

Harry told Dudley what to expect from a magical child and Dudley filled Harry in on the reactions of Vernon and Petunia to a witch daughter in law and grandchild. Needless to say, they had not been as accepting as Dudley had hoped, ultimately disowning their own son and granddaughter.

The the Dursley family had come over to dinner that night and every Sunday night there after. Sometimes switching between the two families houses. The children had become fast friends, James and Giselle becoming inseparable. 

When September first rolled around, platform 9 ¾ had been the site of a much unexpected scene. The Potter’s, the Dursley’s, and the Malfoy’s all talking and laughing and hugging their children. Scorpius Malfoy, James Potter, and Giselle Dursley. Hogwarts newest students, Gryffindors newest golden trio and the newest thorn in headmistress’ McGonagall’s side.


End file.
